The pacific island nation of Samoa has begun hosting perhaps the biggest event in its history. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting has kicked off in the capital Apia, bringing together three monarchs, dozens of leaders and more than four thousand delegates. It's the first time a pacific island nation has ever hosted the event and the government has poured enormous resources into trying to make it a success
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00:00This is an enormously significant event for Samoa, and an enormous amount of effort really
00:07has been poured into making it a success.
00:09As you mentioned, the numbers here are huge.
00:12You've got not just the three monarchs, but 56 member countries of the Commonwealth.
00:16Many of those are sending leaders.
00:18On top of that, some 4,000 delegates also flooding into Apia, which is not a very big
00:23place.
00:24All of that is putting a pretty considerable strain on Samoa and its government, but it's
00:28a task that they're really embracing with quite a bit of relish, and they've got a bit
00:32of support.
00:33So, for example, the government's bringing in a massive cruise ship, which is docked
00:37not far from where I'm standing right here in central Apia, which can house some of those
00:41delegates because the hotels are all overflowing.
00:44You've also got the fact that you've got a number of Pacific countries, 10 or so in total,
00:49who are actually sending additional police here to Apia to help with security.
00:54And on top of that, when you leave the capital and go out into the villages, you really do
00:58get a sense of a country that's pouring every effort into this event.
01:01So every single one of those 56 member countries has been assigned a village.
01:06That village is then decked out in the flags of that country, and the delegation from that
01:10country is very gently encouraged to actually go and visit to try and get a sense of Samoan
01:16hospitality.
01:17So this is a big deal for Samoa, and you really do get a sense of not just the government,
01:22but many people here in Apia, and more broadly, throwing their shoulder to the wheel.
01:26When you talk to locals about that argument, they're not that interested in it.
01:30They say no matter what the merits of Chogga may or may not be, the main thing they're
01:34excited about is the opportunity to really amplify Samoa's voice, including on the international
01:39stage.
01:40And unsurprisingly, many people here are keen to talk about issues that are important to
01:44them.
01:45And of course, on top of that list is climate change.
01:47Samoa, like many Pacific island nations, is deeply anxious about the threats posed by
01:51climate change, sees it as an existential risk, and they hope that with all the TV cameras
01:56and media here in Apia, they'll have an opportunity to really amplify that message.
02:02Of course, that doesn't mean that questions over the Commonwealth's legacy are irrelevant.
02:06Just for example, we're going to get a new Secretary-General of the Commonwealth elected
02:10later this week, and all three of those who are from Africa have advocated, for example,
02:15the idea of reparations for colonialism and slavery.
02:19So these ideas are still alive, but debates around the monarchy and colonialism can be
02:25in the Pacific a little bit more muted than you might find in places in the Caribbean,
02:30for example, or in Africa.
02:32So our expectation is that it may not dominate the agenda in the way it might elsewhere.
02:37Many Commonwealth nations are developing nations, and it includes a host of both Pacific and
02:42Caribbean nations.
02:43They face a really similar set of challenges, not just the threat of climate change, but
02:48the fact that it remains far too difficult to actually get a hold of money, including
02:52from multilateral institutions, to deal with that impact.
02:55So I think that will absolutely be at the top of the agenda.
02:58And it's not just climate change.
03:00We're expecting leaders also to issue an oceans declaration that really emphasizes the critical
03:05importance of ocean health in not just stabilizing the climate, but towards stabilizing environmental
03:11degradation more broadly.
03:12Now this is multilateralism, so it's long, slow, and sometimes painstaking work.
03:18But the Commonwealth Secretariat and others say that they believe this could be a real
03:22spur to action.